THE knock-on effects of a national strike in Belgium are still being felt at the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge three days after industrial action began.

Trade unions in the European country joined forces and called a national strike in response to Belgian government policies designed to lower the nation’s budget deficit.

Operations at Brussels’ two airports and big train stations have been severely affected, and traffic in and out of both Antwerp and Zeebrugge have been affected, due to disruptions to pilotage and vessel traffic services at both ports.

Traffic resumed fully at both ports on November 26 after two days of disruption, but the knock-on effects are being felt.

The Port of Antwerp-Bruges said 13 outbound vessels and 28 inbound vessels were waiting “without prospects” at Antwerp as of 0730 hrs on November 27, while traffic at Zeebrugge was still likely to be delayed even though operations are running normally again.

Disruption to container handling and other services both on the quayside and in the hinterland means congestion is likely to continue beyond the strike’s end.

Hapag-Lloyd warned customers that congestion remained “significant” and a vessel backlog is expected to persist into next week.

“We are working closely with our partners and the port authorities to manage the situation and ensure that delays are kept to an absolute minimum,” the carrier said.